For everyone who has asked for more fluff.
Sometimes I think that the confusion and contradiction and salvation of two people must be pure fluff and a grand joke to God.
The rest of the night went on with the tour of the palace which Legolas seemed to have prepared with utmost care and thought. For a while Irulan feared that he would decide to draw out his wild side……..to be 'dominant' so to say, but he remained gentle and reserved. And true to his word. He refrained from any further intimacy than an innocent embrace or touch. This gave Irulan the feeling that she was finally on the ruling side. And it felt good to be so.
From time to time she felt a little sorry about her attitude towards the Prince. After all, manipulating or not, Legolas had always remained thoughtful, gentle and kind to her. His affection for her had never faltered or diminished. So it was rather………ungrateful to be so harsh now.
But then…….the elf had an unbelievably determined and stubborn side to him. Irulan feared that if she relented now, he would NEVER let her have the upper hand again. So she was pushed into further and further exploration of her rights. And Legolas, surprisingly, gave in further and further. Other than the little tenseness of Irulan's new "rules", they had a splendid time talking. They exchanged opinions on an amazing diversity of subjects, from politics to personal dreams; from history to secret fears.
Very late at night, when she was beyond tired, they arrived at the corridor that she recognized to be the corridor leading to his own room, by the sight of his personal guards.
"Where will I stay?" Irulan said finally, not sure how else to put it. Fortunate for her, being the gentlemen, Legolas understood her meaning and decided not to ask her anything else.
"Your room is prepared for you," he said, trying to sound as matter-of-factly as possible.
"I could stay with the other guests," Irulan said then, pursing her lips, "You did not have to-"
"Of course I did. I would not have you stay in any room. Your room will be next to mine."
They arrived at Legolas' chambers in silence and the Prince ordered his guards not to let anyone in. When they entered, Irulan recognized the bed she had woken up that morning in, and she looked away hastily, not knowing what to do with herself. Legolas gently encircled her waist and led her through the bathroom she had used that morning to the room that lay beyond it and which she had taken a glimpse of, before. She looked only long enough to notice the elaborate furnishing of it and then resumed the inspection of her fingers.
"If you need anything, I am only a call away, Irulan."
Irulan nodded and after a moment's hesitation Legolas leaned down to kiss her gently on the cheek. "I will see you in the morning, then." She nodded again, in silence. But the elf did not move away, yet. "Do you think that you will be comfortable here?"
She smiled to that and took another look around. "Of course, Legolas. You have seen where I used to live."
He swallowed softly at that. "Aye," he said with a low voice. "But…….that time is behind you now. I want you to forget it completely."
"It IS my past. I rather keep it," she said with a sigh. "Besides……I have nothing else," she added. Then instantly regretted it. "I-I do not want you to think that I am not grateful, Legolas. I am EXTREMELY grateful. I just…….."
"You need time, I know," he cut in gently and watched her bite her lower lip. He raised his hand and glided his fingers over it, then. "It is only understandable, Irulan. I have handled you roughly while I should be handling you as the most precious and fragile……person."
"Roughly?! Not at all!"
Legolas held up her hand to silence her. "No, I know it is true. You deserve the finest attention. I was……….carried away."
Irulan shook her head. "You did nothing that I did not want you to, Legolas," she said softly. "I wish I could be as certain as to what I want and what I do not, as you are. The problem is me. I am always so……confused!" she finished with exasperation.
"What is it that makes your decisions so hard?" he said then, slightly shifting on his feet, gazing down at her with curiosity.
She thought for a moment. "I suppose I want too much."
"Pray explain."
"I want happiness for everyone. And that, it seems, is not possible."
Legolas sighed softly and looked up, around the room. "In all my years of ruling, I have come to realize one thing: happiness for everyone is only possible if everyone agrees to be less happy. If everyone agrees to sacrifice some of their own pleasure for the sake of a common joy." He looked down at her again as his blue eyes bore into hers. "I do not know if our………our situation demands the same pre-condition. But……..on my behalf…….I am ready to oblige it. I will take whatever you feel fitting to give. I shall have you any way you are willing to give yourself – as a friend. A lover. A………a……wife."
He softly squeezed her hand then, and left without turning around. Irulan remained standing as he closed her chamber door behind him and she heard him closing the second door to his room as well. Only then did she dare to exhale.
She walked around the softly lighted room then, inspecting the furniture, the objects and items around, the flowers arranged in vases. Finally, feeling tired, she changed into her nightshift, spread on her bed, and settled underneath the covers. She blew the candles out and remained in the dark. Sleep should have come very early under normal circumstances. She felt beyond tired. But……….for some odd reason, it evaded her.
She remained lying in the dark, listening to her own soft breathing, unable to divert her thoughts from a feeling of…….lack. She was missing something. Something was missing from her. And yet……..she did not know what it was. She turned from left to right. From right to left. Was it her room? No way! Was it the feeling of belonging somewhere? Could she actually be missing………dread? As stupid and silly as it was, perhaps she was restless because she had never been so free before and she confused that feeling with incompleteness.
And then………..many many minutes later, as she was tired with the inner battle, she suddenly understood what it was. She actually, truly and most certainly missed……..Legolas! Irulan bolted and sat upright, clutching at her cover. She stood like that for a long time, feeling overly…….panicked and yet……excited. 'Now wait a moment,' she thought and tried to find the REAL reason for her discomfort. But she failed. Over and over and over again. Her heart knew with certainty that it was Legolas that she was missing. That she was missing his embrace. His kiss. His warmth. She was simply missing this morning.
Irulan hastily ducked underneath the covers and remained as still as she could. Her heart was beating like a battle drum, her face and her body were burning. Her fingers felt icy cold. She decided to think of other things. Such as……Her mind, it seems, was not on her side tonight. For it insisted on remembering exactly what she meant to forget. "Please, no!" she moaned. "This can NOT be real!" But it was real. VERY real.
Fifteen minutes passed. Half an hour. An hour. Irulan observed in horror how all her arguments slowly but very certainly melted away. By the end of thirty minutes, she had accepted the fact that she wanted Legolas. She simply did. 'And who in her right mind wouldn't?' she told herself, feeling a little better at that. Minute forty-seven: Sharing an intimacy that had been shared before, could not be considered as bad as sharing it for the first time. Minute fifty-eight: When two people loved each other, love on a physical level was the most natural thing on earth. One hour and thirteen minutes: Sharing such an intimacy with the Prince of Ithilien –especially during such a sensitive phase, when they should stay away from each other to make a more truthful decision- was a VERY bad idea. One hour and twenty-two minutes: Perhaps it would not be THAT encouraging a thing to do, after all. One hour and twenty-three minutes: No. It was WRONG, period. One hour and thirty minutes: Considering the fact that Legolas was indeed planning to leave the throne in case of her refusal, she was forced to accept sooner or later anyway. Besides, let's face it – it was not such a bad thing. Oh no……not at all. Two hours and seventeen minutes later: Damned be everything – she wanted him. She loved him. She treasured him. She should be allowed to put that into action. She should be allowed to show that. She had treated him heartless enough. After all he had done for her, she had treated him beyond horrible! He had done nothing wrong and she had done nothing, NOTHING right!
Irulan almost fell out of the bed, still clutching at the bed cover. With her eyes accustomed to the darkness, she easily found the door and not giving herself time to rethink her decision, hastily bolted into the bathroom. And ran into an object that tilted and fell, but she caught it before it hit the floor. She continued walking, but the cover she was holding on to got stuck in something and to her utter demise Irulan was instantly pulled backward and then slipped on the marble tiles, and a moment later she fell into the warm water, covered with rose petals.
She emerged from it, ready to shout out, only to discover that the cover was entwined around her. Suddenly the panic of drowning here in the dark with the bed sheet wrapped around her hit her brain. She tried to remain calm, trying to find the end of the sheet, only to discover that it was wound around and underneath her and that her struggles were only making it tighter. 'Sweet Valar, I am going to die!' was all she could think. Her breath left her, and as the sheet glued itself to her, it refused to come back. And with the loss of breath, any chance she had of screaming for help vanished as well.
Irulan fought and struggled in panic, the certainty of death engulfing her by the moment, as the sheet became like iron shackles to her, unrelenting in its grip. The world became her own single struggle for survival, as everything vanished from her mind. Her muscles tensed, relaxed, tensed, and finally refused to obey at all. Irulan's knees gave in as she felt herself sinking, but the feeling oddly more resembling to rising. She felt the water engulfing her as all feeling left her. "And this is how it ends," Irulan thought with puzzlement and surprise, and finally she let go. "What a waste," was all she could think then, in that very last moment, when images of a strange life passed before her eyes.
She remembered the oddest things. The warm and slightly wet touch of her father's hand that held hers. The way the sun covered half his face so brightly, that she could not see it. The sight of fireflies at night in the forest when she was lost one day in the swamps. Or how the cake she had baked with too much flour had tasted. She remembered being sick as a strange cold fire had licked her body for days. And how the flowers she had brought for her father's funeral had been a little dull and old and odorless. The strangest of all, though, was that amongst all those memories, there was also the memory of Legolas. Although there was no recollection of any other. Fragments of her…….and then suddenly Legolas. And not a certain memory, but a…….feeling that she recognized to be him. A strange tingling and yet soothing warmness. He felt like sleep. Exactly like a slumber that had the power to push everything in the background. A slumber that, no matter how unreal visitors of dreams it brought with it, still managed to be victorious as all grief, all pain, all indecisiveness, all agony, all terror gave in to it. So fleeting a thing…….taking away all that. And essential as air itself to any living being.
That is exactly when she felt hard and cold floor on her back and when the cover was torn from her vision and a face appeared before her eyes. A face she recognized instantly, though it looked slightly distorted with her fairly dark vision. She blinked once, twice and realized that the odd sound coming to her ears was her own breathing and that the burning pain that accompanied it was the burning in her lungs. "Legolas," she managed to wheeze to her utter surprise. He did not answer and instead, turned her over and Irulan felt a sharp push in her back as her mouth involuntarily opened, and an unexpected amount of water came out of it. Irulan just hoped that the rose petals swimming in it were already on the floor when she threw up the water.
She was roughly turned on her back again, coughing, and the elf's face appeared before her again with a simultaneous touch on the vein in her neck. "Can you hear me?" he said then, not really looking at her but inspecting her body for injuries. Irulan nodded and gaining confidence from the fact that her muscles seemed to obey her, she tried to speak: "I-I can," she said, and her voice was surprisingly intact.
"Tell me where it hurts," he said softly, touching her cheek.
She waited a moment to understand. Then said "Nowhere. I…..I think I am fine."
"You are?" he said with a cold voice suddenly and she blinked to look up at him, though it was hard to see his face in the dark. "Yes……I think I am," she said slowly.
"What……..in………the name of Valar…….." he seethed between clenched teeth, "………WERE YOU DOING IRULAN??!!" he shouted suddenly and it was the first time he had ever raised his voice this much in her presence. Though she was dazed extensively, she jumped up at his tone and found herself sitting face to face with him. Unable to come up with an answer, Irulan just looked at him, agape. "Are you INSANE?!" he shouted then. "You almost DIED!" She swallowed and clutched at the front of his shirt.
"I……..I was trying to…….."
He grabbed her chin, snatching her head up. "Trying to do WHAT?"
"To……to get to your room," she sniffed and to her utter horror, began to cry for no reason at all.
"In the DARK, Irulan?! With your sheet?! At this HOUR? What were you THINKING?!"
Irulan just put her head on his chest, unable to stop crying and feeling scared out of her wits. "Please stop yelling, Legolas," she managed with a low voice.
Legolas took a deep breath and embraced her strong enough to hurt her bones. "I swear you will be the end of me!" he hissed. "You will be the very end of me!" he hissed again and embraced her even stronger, which made Irulan wince with pain, but in his bewilderment, Legolas did not hear it. He stroked her back and gently rocked her, in attempt to calm down himself more than her, thinking that being so dependent on the well-being of another was indeed a terrible thing. And yet, it made him feel connected. It gave him an objective other than caring for himself and his own well-being alone. Though the elf was already caring for millions through his reign, those millions had no name and no face for him. They were a part of his duty, to which he was born and which, in his heart, he truly performed with sincere joy. But they were not as real as Irulan was at the moment. Not so solid that he could embrace them and try to ease their pain.
Some people are not made to be so. Some people are simply not endowed with the gift or talent to care for anyone else. They stride to live in a universe that is centered around them – a place where everyone else exists for the sole function of being the background performers in a theater play. Some people, though, have it in them to care for others, to the point when it becomes a necessity beyond any other. It is a natural thing for them and they can not imagine it to be otherwise. As a matter of fact, they thrive in such circumstances, pitying those who would live with no worry in their hearts for another. And Legolas was undoubtly one of those. The idea that he would look after Irulan, protect her, nourish her and guide her through life only made him happy beyond words. At her accomplishments, he would feel fulfillment himself. At her happiness, he would feel joy. At her loss, he would feel failure.
There were those who thought that a Prince and a man like that would choose a stronger woman. Someone who needed no other. But again, strength is something that may show itself in very strange ways, and to Legolas, Irulan was someone with amazing strength. She had resisted him, had she not? She had resisted the temptation of the offers he had made from the very beginning. She had refused any help on his behalf in any matter, except when he had offered it as a gift. She had and was even now resisting the crown of Ithilien and everything she was observing around her, while anyone else in his kingdom -and especially anyone who had lived such a deprived life- would have done anything to have it, anything to be allowed to spend the rest of their lives in such luxury – forget about the fact that they would rule the most powerful kingdom in Middle Earth with the most astonishing Prince by their side. Oh no…...there was nothing weak about Irulan. On the contrary, she was strong in the RIGHT way. The right way for a woman. For a wife. For a queen.
He broke out of his daze when he heard her mumble against his shoulder and quickly pulled back to look at her. "What is it? Are you well, Irulan?"
Irulan looked up at him. She was completely wet. Her hair was hanging in a dark tangled web down her shoulders. Her white, thin nightshift was clinging to her body. And she was shivering. "I am, Legolas," she said slowly, wiping the remnant of tears from her eyes and sitting up a little further.
He gently caressed her cheek, then. "What happened?"
Irulan rolled her eyes. "As always, the most stupid thing! I feel so foolish!"
Legolas sighed tiredly and pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes. "I fail to imagine what sort of thing it was that has put you under these circumstances, Irulan," he said a moment later, wiping her dark locks from her face.
"Oh don't ask!" she moaned and leaned on his chest again. "Good thing you woke up," she mumbled as he embraced her again.
Legolas laughed softly at that. "I am certain that I would have woken up to that tumult. But I was not asleep, Irulan." With that, he picked her up and walked into his room in the total darkness, as comfortable as if it were bright day. He put her to sit on the armchair and disappeared again, showing up with several towels.
"Here, let us dry you before you catch a disease," he said gently and gave her a towel, unfolding another and wiping her arms with it.
Irulan just pressed the fabric to her face and remained like that for a moment. "Why were you not asleep?" she said then, taking it off.
Legolas halted for a moment, then continued his task in silence. "I could not sleep," he said after a short silence.
"Neither could I," sighed Irulan and tried to gather her hair to squeeze it.
"You were awake all this time?" he said, surprised. "It is quite late. And you were tired. Was the bed uncomfortable?"
Irulan swallowed softly and tried to suppress the shivering, to no success. She looked down at her fingers and unconsciously began to wipe them on the soft towel. After making such a fool of herself she was afraid to admit her discovery. What if she just made a bigger fool of herself? "It…..it was," she said softly, not looking up.
"So was mine," Legolas said, more to himself than to her. He halted then, not sure how to continue and whether a confession would just make things worse. Now that she had asked him to, he should keep his distance, should he not? Anything else would be unthinkable. It would be a terrible thing to do. And yet……..perhaps it was not really pushing. It was more like a confession of weakness. And he had never been afraid of that when it came to his weakness concerning her. "I missed you terribly," he whispered then, instantly alarmed at his words but unable to look up. He thought about asking her to remain with him and to promise in return that he would not attempt to go any further than an embrace. But he knew with desperate certainty that there was no way he would be able to keep true to his promise. It would be foolish to think oneself so strong. He bit down the words and resumed to dry her lower leg.
"I missed you too," she said slowly and Legolas could not help himself to look up, certain that she meant something completely different. Irulan bit her lower lip and looked away, detangling her hair. When he did not move or speak, she sighed softly. "So I decided to come to your room. But………the Valar decided that it was the perfect opportunity to remind me of what a fool I am, Legolas!" she said with exasperation, pulling at her hair with anger. "I can not BELIEVE I fell into the pool! And not only that – I almost drowned! Imagine what that would have looked like in the morning! Me floating amongst rose petals with that stupid bed sheet around-"
His fingers on her lips stilled her and she looked up to watch him slowly pulling himself up to his knees and remaining on face level with her. "You were coming to…….me?" he whispered and Irulan could have sworn that even under this lack of light she could see the perfect blue of his gaze.
She swallowed softly and turned her head, but Legolas held her chin and turned it back. "I was!" she said finally. It would have probably sounded far better if she had made it as far as his room, in the first place. Falling into the pool had, no doubt, taken off a large chunk of the romanticism. Not only that, but it had also, without doubt, taken off a large part of her arguments in favor of her attempt. "I think it was a mistake," she said then, with a low voice.
The elf, who had been observing her with silent astonishment, woke up to that. "What was?" he said softly, his fingers wandering to her hair and feeling the wetness of it.
"You," she said with a tired sigh. Legolas froze in mid-action. Many silent moments passed as Irulan swallowed and shivered in frustration. "From the first day, you were a mistake, Legolas," she said then and he felt a solid slap on the face, even though she had not moved at all. His mind knew that such a thing had not happened, but it also failed to admit that the pain was not real. He swallowed softly and unable to speak, just remained staring at her.
"You have this……..this horrible effect on me," Irulan said then, looking towards the window that showed the grey-blue clouds in the darkness of the sky. "Everything you do to me becomes so………essential to me. I dare not – no, I CAN not give it up afterwards!" She sighed again and turned to regard him as he stood inches away from her, his face shrouded in alarm that he was very obviously trying to keep hidden. "The first day I met you, you spoke to me and right afterwards, I missed speaking to you. Though I had never spoken to you before and it was perfectly fine, after that moment, it was not fine at all! And then you met me and I missed meeting you. I missed it so much that it became this……..this constant ache in me. And then……" she sighed and looked away again. "……..and then it just became worse and worse. You said I am intact. That is not true, Legolas. Perhaps I used to be intact. But I am so………..weak now!" she hissed in anger. "I feel so………in need. And the idea that this-…" she waved her arm to include the room and him at that- "might end one day, is just……….terrifying me!"
"I mean, I could not sleep, Legolas! Me, who had always slept alone to this day, who had no concerns for such things, simply could not sleep because you were not there! It felt wrong, although I know that it was not. And I tried to convince myself that it was not wrong. But the bed felt cold and hard. And the sheets felt coarse. The walls were just too close to each other and the ceiling was not high enough and the window would not allow any air in!"
Legolas sat listening to her, the pain turning into something that was, in its intensity perhaps even more painful. He watched her in amazement as she spoke everything that he had felt in his own heart for the longest time. Perhaps he would have chosen different words. And he most certainly would not look at it with such bitter anger. But, underneath it all, it was the same thing. True, Irulan had told him that she loved him. But it had felt nowhere nearly this devastating and relieving. For this meant that she felt the need for him as much as he needed her. That, after all his struggles, he had managed to plant the smallest seed of need in her. That his efforts were getting somewhere. That, as unrelenting and unaffected she seemed from the outside, his attempts to make the palace and himself and the life he was offering tempting to her, were not completely in vain, after all. And most importantly, that, under another string of merciless attacks on his behalf, she might actually give in completely!
Had he not been lying here in his bed, thinking that it felt wrong to act so passive, so……submissive when he was the Ruler of Ithilien? 'A king indeed!' he had hissed with anger. 'What good can my reign to Ithilien bring when I do not have the heart to take matters in my own hands? I, who never hesitated in a single battle, nor in a single official meeting, am certainly no more fit to be the ruler of this land, for I can NOT rule!' He had raised his fist to bang it on the wall, then had stopped himself instantly from doing so. And to his own dismay, he had remembered over and over again how all the women had spoken of Dernhelm's so called "masculinity" and "dominance" and "courage" so fondly! So furious had the elf felt about the recollection, that several times he had jumped to his feet and silently walked around the dark room until his spirit dampened.
He had sat in his bed, as sleep evaded him, looking at the spot Irulan had been lying on, that very morning. "She is right there, one room away, and I can not walk over. I simply can NOT! I am a coward! Very much like the coward I was that night after the visit to the town – the night I should have kissed her and did not. Out of pure cowardice. AGAIN!"
The torture had continued for hours, when he finally had said "Enough!" to stop the chaos in his mind. "Enough! Mercy"!" he had whispered in frustration. "A single sign from the Valar, and I shall risk it all. A single, small sign that she wants me as much as I want her, and I shall stop this craziness. I shall be king again. And this time, a real one!"
And right at that moment, he had heard her falling into the pool, although at that very moment he did not know that this was the reason for the sudden sound in the silent room. And if that, along with her confession was not a sign…….then nothing was. She had come to him. Now she would never walk away again.
Legolas had missed the last part of her speech, and Irulan shook him gently on the shoulder, saying "Legolas? Are you……..alright?"
"I am," he whispered then and gave her a deep kiss.
Irulan pushed herself back a little to break it, the intensity of the kiss instantly shaking her argument. "Did you hear what I said?" she said, digging herself further into the armchair while this had no effect on the elf who leaned in and trapped her thus efficiently.
"Yes. You were saying that you were coming to me," he said slowly and kissed her again.
"I meant the part-…" she began once she managed to break free again.
"And I was saying that we should dry you," he broke her off with a whisper, his gaze locked to hers while his fingers wandered to the strips of her nightgown, slowly pushing them down her arms, "before you catch some disease."
Irulan remained frozen. Not only with the surprise, but also with the realization that she did not want to move anyway. She looked into his eyes as he stared back, not breaking the silent communication while his fingers very efficiently stripped her from the wet nightshift in agonizing slowness. "And I was thinking," he said then, pulling her to her feet to shed the remainder of the garment, "that I can not allow you to remain alone, as from tonight."
He kissed her again and Irulan lost all care about the world. Thankfully her mind was working solo at the moment and continued the speech on her behalf: "But what about the things I just said?"
Legolas sighed and picked her up, walking towards his bed. "I need you MORE, Irulan. I want you far more. I am more terrified, more horrified, more devastated. I ache more, I miss much more." She was gently put in between the covers and a moment later, felt him gliding in after her and the warmth of his naked skin felt a deep contrast to the coolness of hers. "I think I am not the person to offer solution on the matter." He pulled her towards himself and kissed her yet again as Irulan felt the flame of his existence engulfing her and warming her up. Yes, this was right. This was what was supposed to be. The ache was gone. The frustration was gone. The terror was gone. Irulan wrapped her arms around his neck and relaxed in his embrace.
"You will marry me," he whispered then, kissing her shoulder.
"I……..I," she stammered, thinking that she should not speak in this state for she could be saying things that she might regret later on.
"You will," he said then, with a voice that was utterly gentle and yet steely in its determination. "No more thinking. No more discussions. *I* shall decide. *I* shall set the pace," he said and pressed down on her, kissing her again.
"W-what?"
"You will trust me, Irulan," he said with a low voice, his hands igniting a fire of terrible heat all around her body, "and let go. I will think for the both of us and that will be the end of all confusion and indecision. Enough with the frustrating wait. I shall walk and you shall walk with me. If not, then I will have to carry you through it. But you are coming, and that is final." If this was the only way to bend Irulan –and it seemed very much so- so be it. Perhaps it had been a mistake to give her too much time and too many options. Perhaps it had just served to confuse her further. That would change from now on.
"But-…."
"I don't care if it makes me selfish. Or brutal. Or unpleasant. I don't care if that means I am not civilized or of finer nature. I don't care for the thoughts of others."
She slightly sat up, his weight still pressing down on her and his lips on her throat. "What about what I think?"
"Oh you will come to like it," he said slyly and added "I promise," with a whisper.
"I can not believe you!" was all she could come up with, a very distant part in her protesting but the rest and major part of her not giving a damn at the moment.
"I shall never take advantage of my rights over you. I shall never treat you in any way that will make you regret your decisions. You will have everything you want. Anything. But I will have YOU, Irulan."
"Your rights over – Legolas! What if I say no?" she said, knowing that she was playing a losing game and that he had her heart and her mind and her body already.
"You can say no all you want. It won't make a difference, my love."
She weakly fought to release herself, but it ended instantly as Legolas pulled himself completely over her, pinning her down effectively as that cursed wave of passion rose in the horizon again. "Why not say 'yes', then?" he said with a sinister smile and Irulan's last sentiment of astonishment was washed clean for good with the kiss that followed it.
**********
Irulan woke up to a kiss on her cheek. She frowned and shifted slightly under the covers. But return to sleep evaded her as the kiss repeated itself. She slowly opened her eyes and then instantly closed them with the sharp whiteness of the light. "I am not awake," she mumbled and turned her back.
"Sure you are," laughed Legolas softly and embraced her from the back, inhaling the damp mass of her hair.
"The chickens!" she said suddenly and sat upright.
He sat up with her. "Pardon me?"
"Oh," Irulan said a moment later, "n-nothing. I thought it was time to feed…….." she turned to look at his amused smile. "I am not awake!"
With that she delved underneath the covers, pulling it over her head, but everything disappeared a moment later with a swift pull. Irulan, left in the open, opened her eyes in terror and found the pillow to cover herself up. "Not again!" she protested to his soft laughter. "Legolas! You need to stop doing that!"
"Nay, Irulan. I love the color you offer in return."
She sat up, embracing the pillow and giving him a very nasty look over it. He smirked in amusement and dropping the sheets away, crouched towards her on the bed. "Stay away!" she said, inching back.
"Or else?" he whispered suggestively.
Irulan jumped off the bed and walked away from it without turning her back to him. "You are too much of a child! What do I have to do to get some good morning sleep in this place?!"
"Just assume that you still have chickens to feed, Irulan," the elf said with all innocence, stepping away from the bed, as well. She noticed suddenly that his hair was fairly wet and a towel was wrapped below his abdomen. He must have taken a bath already. 'What time do these creatures wake up, anyway?!' she thought with irritation, then.
"Oh, curse it all!" she yelped and massaged her face, holding to the pillow with the other one. "Legolas, I dare you to snatch this pillow away from me!" she said as dangerously as she could, though it was not much, to be honest.
"I accept that dare, Irulan," he said suggestively and took another step.
"Legolas, for the very last time, STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
"Ah, but that is one request I simply can not fulfill, my lady," he said slyly and kept his advance. Irulan watched the ripples of his tense muscles as he moved. He truly was perfect in any and every way. She swallowed softly and moved back, to her utter demise blushing even further.
"Every morning the same damn thing! Enough already!" She said with exasperation. And then added with afterthought "And I am no lady!"
He stopped before her, having backed her into a corner and narrowed his eyes, looking over her shoulder for a moment. "I think you are right, Irulan," he said slowly and surprised her. "Because, as of tomorrow that title will not be suffice to describe you. I will be chasing a queen!" Before her mouth could fall open to that, the pillow was gone, flying towards the other corner of the room and Legolas was picking her up.
"WHAT?!" And then she remembered remnants of last night and the desire for struggle forgotten, remained dumfounded as the elf carried her towards the bathroom and shedding his own towel with a fluid move, began to descend into the warm water. He released her afterwards and Irulan swiftly stepped away to place her back against the walls of the oval pool, also effectively hiding herself underneath the rose petal covered water. "Now listen, Legolas," she began slowly and he cocked his head, remaining on his spot with a very irritating smile on his lips.
"You can not do this. We have to......I mean I have to think. I need to think about this."
"You, Irulan," he said and glided towards her, giving her no route to escape and placing his arms on either side of her head, gazing down on her, "need to bathe, get dressed and meet me for breakfast. We have a lot to do. After all," he added then, playing with her hair that was afloat around her in a dark mass, "this will be our last day as lovers. I think it should be memorable."
"Are you out of your mind?!" she yelped despite herself, but the elf did not even flinch at that.
"Alas, I might as well be. I am so happy, it is simply not natural."
"Legolas, we simply can not-..."
"I will go now and arrange everything. Your gown for the wedding. And mine. And all the official things that need to be done. And the preparations and so on so forth. I fear that it will be quite hasty. Do you think we should repeat the ceremony in a more elaborate fashion later on?"
Her reply was a horrified look. "I thought so, too," he said in a cool tone, resuming his play with her hair, "such elaborate ceremonies are not to my liking. But now I have come to think that it would be injustice to someone of your worth," he finished with a sigh.
"I will not marry you!" she said then in horror. "And certainly not tomorrow!"
"Sure you will," he said with a whisper and softly kissed her cheek. "Do not be afraid, Irulan. I know it is an important decision, but I will make certain that you will never regret it. And once it is behind you, you can relax and delve into the joy of it. So the sooner, the better."
"Nonsense!" she said, trying to pry his arms so that she can glide away, but her efforts had no effect on him. "Legolas," she said then, with a tired gulp, "please.......you can not force me into this."
He remained silent, his hand traveling down her arm and back. "It is for the best. Trust me, Irulan. I would never do anything that would serve only my wishes and harm you in the slightest. Do you think me that selfish?"
"But I am not ready!"
"Do you think that you will ever be?" he said, forcing her to look up into his gaze. She opened her mouth but he cut her off. "The more time passes, the more indecisive you will become. Then others will trouble your mind - that is, if you have not have troubled it yourself sufficiently by then. Then all the minor, unimportant details will turn into grand problems. Then you will doubt yourself. Or me. Or the world." He kissed her cheek again. "You can tie this bond with me and then have all the time in the world to get used to it."
"I don't understand why we can not stay like this!" she said in frustration.
Legolas looked down at her in shock. "You actually want to........stay my..........concubine?" he said, amazed.
"I prefer the word 'lover', thank you," she said dryly.
He looked down at her for so long, she squirmed under his gaze. "I am not a man to take a mistress," he said with a cold tone.
"Lover," she corrected him.
"Whatever," he said in the same sharp tone, his gaze still fixed on her.
"Don't tell me you had no lovers before," Irulan said, feeling irritated at being gazed down at so.
"I had women in my life, yes," he said to that. "But not anyone I felt about like I do about you. And I carried for none the intentions I have for you. They were short-lived affairs. Not lovers, Irulan." He cupped her shoulder and glided his hand down again, to hold her hand. "I will not engage in a life when you will be known as someone whom I take physical pleasure in at nights. Who follows me around wherever I go, but who will remain in the shadows, looked down at as a woman with no name, no importance and no say in things. Does that sound honorable to you?"
She pursed her lips and looked away. "Well when you put it that way......"
"I would have to kill anyone who thinks lowly about you," he sighed then, "and I'm afraid it would add up to a formidable number."
"Perhaps no one would know?" she said with a weak voice.
"*I* would know!" he said, his impatience evident now. "I will not have you belittled so. Even if it is YOUR wish, my answer is no." Irulan punched the water with anger and he suppressed a grin at that, sorting out the rose petals between the folds of her dark locks. "Besides," he added more softly, "everyone hears everything. Already they know your name, your face and what you mean to me. The palace might be large, but word travels faster than anywhere else in royal circles, my love."
He placed another quick kiss on her cheek, then lifted himself out of the pool, fetching his towel again. "When you step out, one of my guards will lead you to me. I will see you in an hour," he said and disappeared in the other room.
Irulan moaned and massaged her face. "I will run away! Watch me!" she said in exasperation.
The soft laughter of Legolas echoed from the other room. "Run if it pleases you, Irulan," he said, appearing at the entrance again, his shirt and leggings on, "Alas, I can not make any promises that I will behave myself when I catch up. All that excitement and fire in my blood....." Legolas said with a low voice, walking towards her with feline grace. "........might make me do.......drastic.......things."
Irulan rolled her eyes and looked away. She felt him leaning down and kissing her cheek again. "If there is anything you wish for the ceremony. Anything........do not forget to remind me of it," he said softly.
"Indeed! I wish for Arod so that I can gallop away on him before this all takes place!"
"You will ride on Arod to evade a wedding?" Legolas said in amazement.
"I think I might be very capable," she said dryly.
"Look what wonderful things this wedding is doing to you, Irulan!" he said then. "Already you seem to have overcome your fear of horses!"
Irulan just moaned and dived under the water while the elf laughed and exited for good.
*******